A cellular network is a radio network using varying radio frequencies over land areas called cells. Each cell is served by at least one fixed location transceiver (e.g., radio/cell tower). Radio waves are used to transfer signals between the fixed location transceiver and a cellular phone or device. The transceiver may pass signals along to other cellular capable devices within the cell, to another transceiver, or to a wired network connection. Many mobile computing devices, such as tablet computers and smartphones, are capable of accessing a cellular network. Wireless service providers provide this access to registered mobile computing devices, typically under terms of a wireless contract. The cell tower typically acts as the network access point to the mobile computing device.
However, there are times when the mobile device user loses the cell phone signal, such as when the user enters a building. In such a situation, the mobile device continues to ping the cellular network for service and drains the battery of the mobile device at a high rate.
Currently, there are mobile devices that have the ability to deliver voice communications using both a cellular radio signal as well as voice over Internet protocol. Such a feature may be desired in situations when the radio signal from the cellular network is poor (e.g., the mobile device user loses the cell phone signal) in which the user may then select the option to deliver voice communications using voice over Internet protocol over a wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi network). However, none of these mobile devices provide the user with the capability of joining a particular wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi network) to deliver voice over Internet protocol that meets the user's requirements, such as security requirements. For example, when a user enters a restaurant, the user may not desire to offload communications onto the Wi-Fi network at the restaurant if the network is unsecure and the user is having a business conversation with a client.
Hence, there is not currently a means for switching from utilizing a cellular network to utilizing a wireless network if such a network meets the user's requirements to deliver voice over Internet protocol when the cellular radio signal is poor.